I am looking to write a C++ application in Windows that will be able to simulate the handover in 802.11 wireless LANs. I have done a Web search but there doesn't appear to be much information. Do you have any suggestions?

You're looking for the same specifications that 802.11 chipset vendors use to develop wireless adapter and access point code. Start with the IEEE 802.11 specification, which you can download from
www.ieee.org. You'll also want to download or purchase 802.11a/b/g specifications, and probably f and i as well.

The 802.11 standard defines how wireless devices behave when a station (re)associates. Several vendors have developed proprietary inter-AP protocols to facilitate handoff in homogeneous WLANs. To provide guidelines for handoff in multi-vendor environments, the IEEE developed a standard inter-AP specification (IAPP)-- see IEEE 802.11f.

More recently, the IEEE addressed security-related handoff delays in this year's 802.11i advanced security specification. 802.11i goes beyond basic roaming by letting stations use cached encryption keys and pre-authenticate with a new AP before losing contact with the previous AP. To learn more, see IEEE 802.11i and the WPA2 specification published by the Wi-Fi Alliance.

Finally, the new IEEE 802.11 task group R is working on fast roaming techniques needed to support latency-sensitive applications like VoIP more effectively. To learn more, see the 802.11 handoff-related presentations on Bernard Aboba's excellent 802.11 resource Web site.

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